Loyalties Lie
by Danni Kuran
Summary: Sequel to Fidelity. When Sigyn experiences a terrifying sense of déjà vu, she becomes distant from Loki, just what exactly is Loki planning? How does he fix the painful distance, and how does it affect not only Sigyn but also the child she carries? Sigyn can't trust him and Loki had better change that if he ever wants her to love him again. Rated T for safety.
1. Aftermath

**Hello readers, old and new, and welcome to Loyalties Lie!**

**Before you read, I need to tell you something very important. This is a sequel to a previous Loki x Sigyn story I've written called Fidelity, so if any of you randomly found this story I thought I should let you know that. You don't have to read Fidelity before this one, but I would recommend it as it explains a lot.**

**Please Enjoy and Review! xx**

******Disclaimer: I don't own anything you may find familiar here. I don't think I put a disclaimer on Fidelity, but I am telling you now that I own nothing, which is pretty self explanatory why do we even need to include disclaimers if this is a strict fanfiction only site which makes it clear that nobody owns anything why am I still talking sorry about that on with the story.**

* * *

Sigyn sat on the table in the medical quarters as a pair of nurses accompanied by Eir gave Sigyn a check up on her pregnancy. They had told her that it was definitely going to be a boy and Sigyn was ecstatic. After her mother's luck, Sigyn was worried that her own womb was cursed to bear only female children. Not that there was anything wrong with having daughters, but Sigyn had always wanted a son as her firstborn.

Glancing around the room, Sigyn noticed that Loki had still not arrived. Him being there wasn't a necessity, but it did make her feel a lot more comfortable despite the mixed feelings she had felt for him over the past year and a half. Tears started to form in Sigyn's eyes and she felt like crying, it had to have been the hormones. Sigyn had cried a lot so far during her pregnancy, just like Jane had yelled a lot during hers. Sigyn knew that this was nothing to be too upset about, Loki did have an important meeting and Sigyn understood completely.

Looking out the window, the sun began to set and the sky turned orange and pink. She went to cradle her swelling belly only to find Eir's hand there under her own.

"Oh, I am sorry, Lady Eir!" Sigyn gasped, pulling her hand away.

"Not a problem, the urge to cradle one's unborn child is perfectly understandable, dear." Eir smiled as she continued on with the check up in silence. Eir had been a lot kinder to Sigyn after her pregnancy was announced as opposed to her usual snappy self. Sigyn was grateful for that, for Eir being gentler with her, but it did feel a bit strange. It was like Eir was an entirely different person.

"That is all, Princess." Eir said as she stepped back and allowed Sigyn to get up and stand. Eir curtseyed. "The child is doing well in its development and appears to be very healthy."

"Thank you, Eir." Sigyn nodded and Eir curtseyed again before showing Sigyn out the door. That was another thing Sigyn found strange, Eir curtseying. She never did it for Loki so it was quite the shock when she treated Sigyn with such high respect. Perhaps she knew that although married, they were quite the opposite. Regardless of that Sigyn liked it when people curtseyed to her; she had to admit that it made her feel like a real princess.

A pair of guards followed Sigyn as she walked around. To tell the truth, Sigyn had no idea where she wanted to go, but she felt safer with the guards behind her. Sigyn really wanted to see Idunn and Bragi, but the two of them had been having trouble conceiving for years and Sigyn didn't want to rub her glorious pregnancy in their faces. Then there was the option to visit Nanna and her new husband, the married couple who shared the same anniversary as Sigyn and Loki, but Nanna hadn't spoken to Sigyn since she came back to the palace crying about being tricked into marrying Loki. Nanna had comforted her but Sigyn felt like Nanna didn't want to be doing it. Why would she? Sigyn missed her wedding to selfishly elope; perhaps she even deserved the trickery and humiliation she received that night.

Upon Freya's arrival in the Throne Room that night when Theoric continued to demand an annulment of the marriage, Freya laughed when she found out. Perhaps she was even in on the planning? No, it wouldn't have been her, Freya wasn't _that_ crafty. The All-Father hadn't punished Loki for it at all. He got away with it receiving no more than a scolding from Freya and that was it.

Sigyn still hadn't met Nanna's husband. She'd seen and locked eyes with him, but hadn't been properly introduced. She only knew his name because Syn and Sjofn would constantly talk about how he was such a tough Viking. But Nanna was always so gentle, Sigyn found it difficult to picture her with such a rough man. He definitely looked the part with icy blue eyes and a short grey beard. He wasn't unattractive, but you wouldn't exactly pick him if Thor or Loki were in the room.

"Princess Sigyn, are you alright? We have been wandering in circles." One of the guards asked, interrupting Sigyn's thoughts.

"Would you like to return to the medical quarters?" The other guard asked, taking a step closer to Sigyn to make sure that she was okay and reaching out to her in case she needed to hold on to something.

"No it's quite alright, I was just thinking, I apologise." Sigyn smiled. "I think I'll just return to my own quarters until supper to rest."

"Good idea, Princess." The second guard nodded as he stepped back in line with the other one and the two began to follow her at the usual two-metre distance.

* * *

Sigyn lay in the hot bath that the handmaidens had prepared for her as they waited with their backs up against the walls for further instruction. Sigyn lay there in comfort and sighed.

"You may leave; I am quite capable of dressing myself after a bath." She said as she readied herself to climb out of the large stone pool that was her bath. The handmaidens immediately rushed over and helped her out before wrapping a towel around her.

"But you are with child, Princess Sigyn, if anything were to happen in our absence-" One of them tried to explain before Sigyn interrupted.

"It won't." Sigyn's eyes watered as tears threatened to fall. Her hormones had returned and she wanted to cry after being considered incapable of caring for herself after having done it her entire life up until last year. Jane would playfully tease Sigyn by calling her a cry baby. The girls seemed to notice her teary eyes and began to panic.

"Oh, Princess!" One of them gasped.

"We have offended you!" The other one said, finishing the sentence as they curtseyed and apologised at least ten times. Sigyn was beginning to grow frustrated for no reason at all.

"It is all right, you didn't offend me. It was just my hormones acting up. I will be alone now." Sigyn ordered as the handmaidens reluctantly left her by herself. Sigyn hung up the towel again after growing cold and slipped back into the warm pool. It wasn't always this large, it was originally just a large tub but Loki had the entire bathroom remodelled after Sigyn's pregnancy was announced because he didn't want her climbing out of a tub and slipping.

Sigyn sunk deeper into the water and rested her head on the ledge as she closed her eyes and sighed. She cradled her stomach and rubbed it as if trying to feel the baby.

"I wonder if you'll cry a lot like your cousin." Sigyn wondered as she giggled at the memory of Thor and Jane crying and handing their baby over to the maids to take care of so that they could get some much deprived sleep. "I hope not."

* * *

**Sorry that the chapter was so short, I just needed to explain the aftermath of the events a little better since there wasn't too much of that in the Epilogue of Fidelity. The next chapter will get the ball rolling.**

**I now feel inclined to tell you that although I will be updating Loyalties Lie as regularly as I can manage, it will not be my one and only. I am also working on a few other stories, two in particular, that will take up some of my time. This story is not my absolute main priority, but considering I haven't posted the other stories yet; this story is more important than the others.**


	2. Distant

**Thank you for the kind reviews, they always keep me motivated and quicker to update from adrenaline!**

**I was reading bits and pieces of Fidelity and just gawking at how much my writing has improved. *self applause***

**I owe you all a HUGE apology for updating so late, I'll talk more about that at the bottom, okay?**

**On with chapter two!**

**Enjoy and Review! xx**

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Sigyn was sitting on the bed while Loki was bathing in the bath chambers. Looking straight ahead as she cradled her pregnant belly, she day dreamed. She wondered what she and Loki would name their firstborn son. Admittedly, Sigyn detested the idea of naming children after family members and she prayed that Loki wouldn't suggest it. She knew he wouldn't, he wasn't particularly close to any of his family members and friends even now.

Sigyn started fidgeting as she began to ease back into reality. Loki still hadn't finished bathing and Sigyn didn't like the idea of sitting around as of late. Lately she always wanted to be doing something; and she blamed it on the fact that the handmaidens didn't allow her to do anything because of her royal pregnancy. She got up and entered the main living quarters and looked around for something to do to pass the time until Loki was ready to go down to the Dining Hall for supper.

Everything was relatively tidy as the handmaidens had cleaned only yesterday, but Loki's desk was quite messy; perhaps she could tidy it up a bit? Surely Loki wouldn't mind his wife keeping his things in order. Sigyn walked over and started tidying up the two quills and the ink well by putting them in the drawer below the desk, and then she started to sort through his papers to stack. The first few were political papers that still needed his signature regardless of the fact that he was the younger prince. As she flicked through and placed them neatly in the corner of the desk one by one, without intentionally snooping, he eyes caught sight of something she didn't want to see. Two words; love potion.

As she skimmed through the notes Loki had written she wondered why he would need to know about them. Was there a reason or was he just expanding his knowledge? As much as Sigyn wished it was the latter, she knew it was the former because she had enough evidence to back that up. One piece of evidence being that there were books and notes about transfiguration lying around not long after Sigyn left Loki, and the next thing she knew he had used transfiguration to trick her into marrying him. What if he was planning on using a love potion on somebody, or even worse, on Sigyn? He couldn't do it again, there was no way she would allow that to happen to her after the last time.

Panicking, Sigyn stuffed those potion notes at the bottom of the pile, not wanting to be anywhere near them. Her heart started beating faster and she started sweating slightly. Her breathing grew louder into a pant and she backed away from the mahogany desk with haste. Sigyn knew she needed to calm herself before Loki came out to take her down for supper, or else he'd hound her with a million questions that Sigyn knew she wouldn't be able to answer with honesty. In that moment, Loki walked in and Sigyn held her breath.

"Cleaning my desk, are we, Sigyn?" Loki smiled as he walked over to her and hugged her from behind. Sigyn mentally told herself that it would be okay, that she didn't have enough evidence to be afraid just yet. For all she knew he could still be doing dealings with Amora and he could have made that potion for her as thanks for the one she made for him, or perhaps he was doing his research before slipping it in Sigyn's wine.

"Yes, the mess was atrocious." Sigyn answered coolly and unmoving. Loki chuckled.

"Thank you," He kissed her cheek before walking to the door, and Sigyn waited for him to leave her alone but instead he stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. "Aren't you coming?"

Sigyn remembered that it was time for supper and reluctantly turned to follow him, placing a cheery smile on her face.

"Of course, Loki." She smiled as she held his arm. Their walk was strangely silent and Sigyn knew that he could sense something. Before entering the Dining Hall, Loki stopped and asked her.

"Sigyn," He said. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, of course." Sigyn smiled in reply as she squeezed his arm tighter and tried to pull him into the hall to eat. Loki didn't move and Sigyn was pulled back to him.

"Are you sure, you're very quiet this evening. Is it the baby, is he alright?" Loki began to look worried now and his eyebrows knotted together.

"No, he's fine." Sigyn reassured him. She needed an excuse for her distance and she needed it now. "I've just been feeling tired today, hormones."

Surely blaming her hormones during pregnancy would work. She looked at him, waiting for a response that slowly arrived after a minute or so.

"Is that all?" Loki seemed unsure, but her excuse was believable enough because he seemed to believe it.

"Yes, now can we eat? We're starving our baby." Sigyn joked, earning a small smile from Loki as he took her into the hall where the feast awaited them. They walked to the table and sat together; Loki next to Hogun and Sigyn next to Thor, who was piling a mountain of food on his plate. Looking past him Sigyn noticed that Jane was not present yet again. Ever since the baby had been born, Jane hadn't attended supper; feeling uncomfortable about leaving the baby alone with handmaidens. She'd told Sigyn all about it a few weeks ago but Sigyn couldn't see the problem. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Jane wasn't raised like Asgardians were.

"Sister!" Thor beamed as he slammed his plate down on the table and turned to talk to her properly. Sigyn jumped at the loud, booming sound of Thor's voice as it echoed through the hall. She could see Loki getting ready to tell Thor not to be so loud, but Frigga beat him to it. Loki rolled his eyes while Frigga scolded Thor on his unnecessarily loud volume. Sigyn fought a smile and waited for Thor to continue the conversation he'd tried to start, but he started eating instead. Sigyn hadn't even noticed Volstagg pouring her a chalice of wine from across the table.

"No, no. Sigyn is _pregnant_, remember?" Loki said coldly. "She can't have _wine_, or have you forgotten the most basic-"

"Thank you." Sigyn said to a servant who had brought her some water in a fresh chalice; interrupting Loki, who snatched the chalice of wine from Volstagg and downed it in one shot.

"Loki!" Frigga scolded him. Sigyn smiled and turned her attention over to Volstagg, who was looking at her with apologetic eyes.

"My sincerest apologies, Princess Sigyn," Volstagg took her hand in his as Loki glared at them. "I was not thinking. How is the baby?"

"Perfectly healthy, Eir gave me a check-up earlier today." Sigyn smiled back, nodding her head.

"That is wonderful news." He smiled back before a servant bringing in a roast turkey caught his attention.

"Yes," Sigyn said to herself. "It is."

* * *

Back in their chambers, Sigyn changed into her nightgown after Loki had left to see Thor about something; Sigyn smiled, glad that their relationship had improved. If only her own relationship with her husband felt safer…

Sigyn's thoughts drifted back to the notes on Loki's desk, and she couldn't help but go back for another look. She wanted to read the notes this time instead of jumping to conclusions. She'd only skimmed through last time, not reading and processing the words written on the paper properly. Now was her chance.

She stepped over to his mahogany desk and lifted the notes so that she could get to the ones at the bottom of the pile, right where she had left them. She pulled out the piece of paper she was looking for and took a deep breath before reading.

_Love Potions._

_Love potions are often used by those who wish to meddle with attractions right the wrongs. Love potions cannot create true love, only the illusion of love. A love potion cannot be undone; it must be left alone until it wears off. It is important not to expose a victim person to too much of the potion as it can cause serious harm._

There was more but Sigyn didn't get to read it because as Sigyn held the paper in front of her face, crying and shaking uncontrollably in utter fear, the doors opened and Loki entered with a smile that faded quickly. Sigyn stuffed the paper into the pocket of her dress before he could see it. He knelt beside her on the floor.

"What happened, Sigyn?" He asked, sounding worried. Sigyn felt sick. Was this true worry or was he feigning it? "Are you hurt?"

"N-No." Sigyn managed to answer in between sobs. She knew he'd make her tell him what happened any second now, and she needed to think of an excuse quick.

"What happened?" He asked, right on queue. Sigyn tried not to show any further signs of panic as she scrambled to think of a lie to tell. She couldn't believe her life had become this, that _she_ had become this. In the beginning of it all she never would have told a lie, save for when she went to catch venom in a bucket so that Loki would be able to sleep during his harsh punishment.

"I-I just realised I still haven't met Thor and Jane's baby, and I don't even know its name." She cried out. It was definitely not a lie, but it was nothing to be crying about. She hoped he would see it as her hormones acting up and nothing more than that.

"Ah," He said, pleased that it wasn't anything serious. "I'll take you to see the child tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright." Sigyn said as she wiped her tears and stood up off the ground with Loki's help. With one hand he supported her back and he held her hand with his other. He steered her to the bed and sat her down on it.

"Now go to sleep," He smiled. "You'll need it, and the stress isn't good for our baby."

Sigyn smiled back falsely. She didn't know why, but something about Loki seemed off. It was his eyes, it had to be; they didn't see full of complete, genuine concern… Or perhaps she was just imagining it.

Loki handed her a chalice of water to drink before she went to sleep like he did every night, and Sigyn was suddenly afraid to drink it. What if she was already under the influences of the potion but it hadn't started working yet? No, she was panicking too much. She drank the water and returned the chalice to Loki before resting her head on the soft pillows and quickly drifting to sleep.

* * *

Loki watched his bride sleep peacefully. He always regretted tricking her like that, but it was the only way. She wouldn't sleep unless he gave her a very small dose of temporary sleeping potion. Not only was lack of sleep bad for Sigyn, but it was also bad for the baby. Loki sighed. What was she crying about before? She was hysterical. It couldn't have been about what she said it was, no matter how crazy her hormones were Sigyn was never the type to break down over such a small thing.

She'd been very distant to him that day. She was fairly quiet during dinner, almost refusing to look at him at all. He knew it was more than just the hormones of a pregnant woman. He knew there was more to all this than what Sigyn showed. He was going to find out; he was going to eliminate the issue once and for all.

* * *

**So the reason it took so long to update was that not only does school start for me in a week, but also this story isn't my absolute top priority. I'll be honest and tell you that I do have two other stories in the works, and one of them is stealing most of my attention. If you want to know more about those stories, please feel free to look on my profile under Upcoming Stories :)**

**I will still be updating Loyalties Lie to the best of my ability, and I apologise once again.**

**Updates might come very frequently or take a while.**

**And I'm writing chapter three at the moment, so hopefully it won't take too long :D**


	3. Babysitting and Paranoia

**Hi guys!**

**Thank you for the reviews, I couldn't ask for kinder readers, you're all so lovely!**

**You'll all be glad to know that I've finally figured out a basic plot for this story, so I won't be constantly fretting over what to write and how to make the characters act. *Throws confetti***

**That also means I won't be spending so much time thinking of what to write about, so updates should be quicker! *you throw confetti***

**I finished all my math homework in one sitting so that I'd have time to write, so here it is!**

**Enjoy and Review! xx**

* * *

Sigyn smiled warmly as she cradled the little girl in her arms while Loki sat in the chair next to her with an arm around her shoulders. Thor had decided that Jane needed a break from fretting over their daughter, so with Loki's help he managed to convince her to go into town with him while the baby stayed with her Aunt and Uncle. Sigyn was more than excited, not only was she finally getting to meet the baby for the first time, but she also had the opportunity to practice being motherly and taking care of the baby.

She looked up at Sigyn with the bright blue eyes of her father, but they were shaped like her mother's. The baby looked like Thor but resembled Jane; with all of Thor's colouring but Jane's shapes and bone structure. _Sara. _The name echoes through Sigyn's mind, the name of the beautiful baby girl she held that was smiling cheekily at her Uncle Loki.

The name choice had been explained to Sigyn by Jane, who said that Thor wanted a Scandinavian name that wasn't too foreign to the people of Asgard so their daughter wouldn't stand out in a bad way, and Jane wanted a name that wasn't too foreign to her, or difficult to pronounce and spell. She had admitted to struggling with Sigyn's name the first time she'd seen it written down.

"You're a natural, you've already calmed her quicker than any of the handmaidens could." Loki complimented his wife.

"That's because the handmaidens are quite rough with the children." Sigyn replied, not taking her eyes off of baby Sara.

"And will you be like Jane?" Loki asked her. She looked up at him this time, right in the eyes. She raised her eyebrows, not understanding what he meant by the question. Did he mean constantly fretting and worrying? He cleared it up for her quickly. "Will you be wishing to be very hands-on with the baby instead of allowing the handmaidens to tend to him?"

Sigyn sighed. "Perhaps."

Now that she thought about it, the thought of the handmaidens roughly dressing, feeding and bathing her son made her feel quite uncomfortable. But she reminded herself that she was blessed with better handmaidens than Thor and Jane had received. Sigyn's followed instructions more often than Jane's did, so perhaps she wouldn't mind taking a break and letting them tend to the baby while she relaxed for a while or attended a party.

Loki placed a plate of salad and ham in front of Sigyn, who hadn't noticed the servant who had delivered their lunch to them. She looked at Loki and saw him already digging in and her stomach rumbled. She decided to feed Sara before feeding herself, so Sigyn reached for the small tub of mashed pumpkins that had been brought over for the baby's lunch. Getting a spoon ready, Sigyn scooped some mashed pumpkin and held it in front of Sara's mouth, waiting for her to obediently open it… But she didn't. Sigyn sighed and tried gently poking Sara's supple lips with the spoon, and Sara opened her mouth and tilted her head in confusion before Sigyn slipped the food into her mouth and fed her.

"I tricked you." She said as she got another spoonful ready for her niece. She held it in front of Sara's mouth and poked her lips again, waiting for it to part. Being the daughter of a Midgardian scientist, as Loki had called Jane once, Sara wasn't going to fall for the trick again. Sigyn sighed and tried again, only to have Sara move her head to the left, causing Sigyn to get some mashed pumpkin on the girl's right cheek. It wasn't until Loki spoke that Sigyn realised that he had been watching her the entire time.

"You'll be a wonderful mother, Sigyn." He said. Sigyn smiled contently. It was moments like these, moments where he was kind and romantic, that Sigyn forgot all about every cruel thing he had ever done. The potion, the marriage trick, even his love potion notes. It was a shame she had to ruin it all by overthinking it. A sad look flashed in her eyes that didn't go unnoticed by her husband.

"I'll return shortly." She said as she handed Sara over to her uncle and stood up to walk to the bath chambers, only to have Loki grab hold of her arm with his free hand. She looked down at him, and wanted to cry. The way he held Sara so gently, how relaxed she appeared in his arms, he'd be a wonderful father. There was no doubt about the fact that he'd play with them and feed them himself, instead of barely sparing a glance at the children as most would assume of him; but they didn't know him like she did, and she knew that their son would love him, just like she did. She couldn't remember the last time she'd said it, it always felt like such an artificial fantasy to admit to herself that she was in love with that man. The man who fooled her and lied to her and yet deep down she still wanted to trust him. He had been nothing but kind to her since their wedding night, the night their child was conceived, and yet deep down she also knew that she couldn't trust him, even though she wanted to. For all she knew, she could be under the influence of a love potion right now.

Sigyn jerked her arm away in fear at the sudden thought that she had. What if she _was_ under the influence of the potion in that moment. The notes mentioned that it was bad to give too much potion to a person, so what if he was giving it to her in small doses so it was kicking in very slowly? No, she was paranoid. Surely Sigyn would have noticed her water tasting oddly. Once again she had to spoil everything by overthinking it. She sat down next to Loki, who had his eyes opened wide and full of concern, but was it a façade? Sigyn took a few deep breaths as Loki removed Sara's bib and used it to wipe his wife's falling tears that even she wasn't aware of.

"Get some rest." Was all he said as he stood up with Sara in one arm, and holding his other out for Sigyn to take. She hesitated for a moment before deciding to trust him. She had to, she needed to force herself to place trust in him; bit by bit, little by little. He helped her stand and then led her to the bed where she pulled the covers over herself and lay down. He kissed her forehead before lifting Sara over Sigyn so that she could do the same. He smiled and then left. But as usual when Sigyn went to bed before him, no matter how gentle his words and expression may have appeared, there was always a passing look in his eyes, a mixture of pain, guilt and possible cruel intent. It chilled Sigyn to the bone.

* * *

"Aunty Sigyn isn't very well right now. She has a baby like you in her belly, and it's causing her some stress." Loki cooed to baby Sara as he sat on the chair in front of his mahogany desk. Loki pulled out a piece of scrunched, tear-stained paper from the bottom drawer to the right. The paper he had found in the pockets of Sigyn's dress the previous night after she'd had sleeping potion and he changed her clothing.

To be quite frank he was surprised when he found the notes in there and he wanted to know what she thought when she saw them. Was she afraid? Was that why she stuffed the notes in her pocket so that he wouldn't catch her with them? Did she find them accidentally when she had tidied up his desk or had she been snooping? All good questions.

Loki hated to admit that he felt a little disappointed in his wife's lack of trust in him, although she could hardly be blamed after what he had put her through. He'd just hoped that time would heal the wounds, but it had been a year since then and it still felt like she was merely tolerating him.

He looked down at Sara and noticed she was examining the words on the page.

"It's about love potions, Sara," He held the paper closer to the baby's face. "See? I have yet to make a list of the ingredients. Don't look at me like _that_, you never know when you might need one."

* * *

**So here's my reasoning this time, my charger broke and I need a new one, therefore my computer time is very limited. I'm going to try and swap it over for a new one tomorrow so hopefully they let me because it should be still under warranty.**

**Whilst writing this chapter I came up with a small side-plot so look out for that one, I'm planning to kick that one off in the next chapter. But please feel free to review me some suggestions, because I'm always looking for new ideas! **

**But what do you guys think? Is Loki up to something, or is Sigyn just being paranoid?**


	4. Odd Taste

**Hey everyone!**

**You may have noticed that I changed the description of the story, that's because I originally planned to have Sigyn run away, but I've changed my mind. For now anyway, she might feel the need to escape later on... but definitely not in the next few chapters. Her fear hasn't built up to that yet, and I don't know if I want her to run away. I have a few better ideas in mind for now. :D**

**As always, thank you all for the kind reviews. You are all what inspire me to continue writing.**

**Enjoy and Review! xx**

* * *

Sigyn groaned. Everything tasted so bland and awful, she hated it. Her water was even more bland than usual; her sandwich was completely tasteless, it was like the flavour had been sucked out of everything. Or perhaps something was put in…

No, no. Sigyn was being paranoid again. He wouldn't, not again. She knew deep down that Loki wouldn't drug her or give her any strange potions ever again, he had promised her that he never would ever again shortly after their wedding. He even swore not to use any medicines on her without consent, including sleeping potions and slipping herbal medicines into her food... That's it, he probably put some form of medicine into her food that was helping her… but with what?

She reminded herself of his promise and told herself that he was only studying potions of infatuation and love. He was already married to her, why would he need to use a love potion? Sigyn knew it was a ridiculous thought.

Lately, any thought of him doing anything wrong felt more and more ridiculous to her. He wouldn't do anything reckless or stupid. He may be the God of Mischief, but he is also a father-to-be and he wouldn't do anything to harm the baby. Those thoughts were double-confirmed the night Sigyn remembered what the note said, that it could affect the person in a bad way, and knew then and there that he wouldn't wish to harm the child within her.

Maybe it was normal for pregnant women to find things tasteless from time to time. Sigyn had never been pregnant before now, so she wouldn't know. She did know that they had strange cravings, so perhaps if you can like strange flavours you can dislike normal ones. Sigyn took another sip of her blander-than-normal water and caught sight of Loki staring at her from across the room.

"Would you like more? You're nearly finished. I'll get some." With that, he took the empty glass from her hand and left before she could reply. Sigyn sighed. She liked how he treated her so well, but she despised how he would constantly scold her for not eating enough or remaining properly hydrated. She understood why, but she'd prefer if he didn't practically force her to sit and eat food that was so tasteless.

* * *

He had to be quick, quick, quick. If he kept Sigyn waiting too long she would grow suspicious; not that he couldn't tell that she was already. He hurried and poured the pink liquid into Sigyn's chalice while looking around to check there were no bystanders to witness his act. Once a sufficient amount of pink liquid was in the drink, he mixed it around with a small spoon until it dissolved and the water took back its usual appearance.

Excellent, it would all be fine now. Sigyn just needed a slight push in the right direction.

* * *

"Oh, Sara." Sif laughed as she bounced the infant on her lap; making the both of them, along with Sigyn, laugh. Sara's giggles echoed around the rooms as Sif and Sigyn's giggles followed suit. Jane had stopped by and asked if Sara could be watched while Thor was out training and she went to research Asgard's constellations. Well, she didn't say she wanted Sara to be _watched_, more like _babysat_. Sigyn didn't quite understand what Jane had meant at first, and was worried that Jane had wanted her to sit on her child like a mother duckling would for her chicks; but Jane clarified immediately after seeing Sigyn's frightened stare. Sif had stopped by shortly after Jane had left, and Sara was taking quite a liking to her.

"I fed her before and now she's making strange faces, what do I do?" Sif asked, worry lacing her voice as she went to hand the baby to Sigyn, who refused to take her.

"You forgot to burp her." Loki's voice came from behind as he returned with a fresh chalice of water for Sigyn.

"Of course," Sif beamed, before her bright smile faded. "How must I do that?"

Sigyn stifled a laugh. It was true that the lady warrior was an interesting woman, but she didn't have a motherly bone in her body; at least not yet.

"It's not that hard, all you do is-" Loki began after handing Sigyn her water, only to have her interrupt him mid-sentence.

"It's alright. You just need to build up your confidence. Hold her and pat her back gently but firmly until she burps." Sigyn explained kindly as she took a very small sip of water, afraid of how it would taste.

"I'm going to have a nap." Loki sighed and with that, he left and closed the doors to the bedchambers; separating him from the two women and the infant. Sif bit her lip and looked down at Sara, who was now making faces of discomfort.

"You know," Sigyn began. "If you don't burp her soon she'll start crying and you'll have my husband to deal with."

"Yes but…"

Sigyn picked up Sara and sat her properly on Sif's knee.

"There," She smiled. "Now just pat her back gently. Don't worry, you won't hurt her."

Sif nodded, took a deep breath, and placed her hand on the infant's back before gently patting it. Sigyn smiled and took another small sip of the tasteless water.

"Are you alright, Sigyn?" Sif asked softly as she continued to pat Sara's back, patiently awaiting a small burp.

"What do you mean?" Sigyn asked, smiling along with Sif as Sara burped a few times before opting to play with Sif's fingers.

"You pulled a face as you sipped from your chalice. Does it taste alright?" Sif asked. "Let me check, it could be hazardous for the baby."

Sif removed the chalice from Sigyn's grip and took it in her own. Taking two gulps, her face unchanging.

"How is it?" Sigyn asked.

"It tastes perfectly fine to me; it must be the hormones, Sigyn." Sif replied.

"You're probably right." Sigyn sighed. "The sun is beginning to set. I'll take Sara back to Thor or Jane and meet you back here. You'll be alright if I leave you alone?"

"Oh yes, you needn't worry about me." Sif nodded as Sigyn left to return her niece to her loving parents.

Sigyn smiled and left the room with the baby, a guard by the door closing it gently behind her. She walked happily as a pair of guards accompanied her and Sara to Thor and Jane's quarters, which were empty. That was strange. She was positive that Jane had asked for Sara to be returned by sunset. She searched around in hopes of finding Jane returning from the observatory, or Thor, muddied up from training with his fellow warriors and friends; but she spotted no one.

* * *

Sif sat on the leather couch by the fire as she eyed Sigyn's drink in confusion. She didn't understand what Sigyn was thinking or how pregnancy hormones could spoil your taste buds that much, or even at all. Sif though the drink tasted absolutely lovely, and Sigyn didn't seem to be enjoying it… Perhaps if she had a few more gulps, it wasn't like Sigyn would be missing it.

Lifting the chalice to her lips again, Sif took three swigs and emptied the entire thing. She slammed it back down on the table in front of her and leaned back in the chair. Suddenly her heart began to ache along with her forehead. She clutched them both as she held back loud groans.

* * *

Sigyn was on her way back to her living quarters after searching for Thor and Jane for a straight twenty minutes. She was about to turn the corner when Thor's booming voice could be heard from behind her.

"Sister! Jane and I thank you so for taking care of our Sara." Thor boomed. Sigyn turned around cheerfully, really only pleased that she could hand Sara to somebody else and relieve herself from her back pains that she had begun experiencing five minutes ago. She handed Sara to her father.

"You're very welcome. I must get back though, Loki is asleep and I should get some sleep too."

* * *

Loki lay in bed, half asleep. He had reached the point where he was unconscious and couldn't move, but was fully aware of what was going on around him. He snuggled under the covers more, only to hear the doors creak open and light footsteps grow closer to him until somebody sat on the bed. Sigyn. He subconsciously rolled over to face her. He nuzzled the top of her head and placed one arm around her petite yet toned body, and the other hand rested upon her flat stomach.

Flat stomach? No, of course not. That couldn't be right. He sighed and opened his eyes, only to come face to face with a certain ebony-haired female warrior.

* * *

**Ebony-haired warrior?! What's going on?! What will Sigyn think?!**

**I would also like to know what you would like to happen. I know how the story will end but I'm stuck on the big swampy middle. **

**Is there anything you'd like to see?**


End file.
